Electrified
by dxflgnhadiwjdnfjgbbbv
Summary: A seventeen year old girl is, Athena by name, is startled when she wakes up to find she's not in her home, or her own world for that matter. She then goes on a journey with Eragon, the one who found her, in order to see if the elves can return her home.
1. 1 Prologue

Thunder sounded above in the clouds.

Rain beats down on the house as if it were trying to disintegrate it into nothingness.

A young woman hiding in the corner of a room, shuddering under a blanket.

A flash of light.

A boom of sound.

The beating of a relentless downpour.

Another flash.

Another clap of sound.

Endless amount of drops beating down on the roof.

A flash of light. A body illuminated by the lightning.

A clap of sound.

Endless downpour.

Flash.

Boom.

The downpour recedes.

Electricity returns to the house.

Lights flicker.

Someone rushes to the corner.

No one's under the blanket.


	2. This is America

Author's Note: I forgot to mention this in the Prologue, but in this story, the Inheritance trilogy (Eragon books) does not exist in our world. Also, I changed her name from Norell because I like Athena better. Also, one of my friends is doing a drawing of the OC I'll be using in this, so if you'd like to see it I'll add a link in the authors notes of the next chapter. Of course, it's mainly for me and her, but I'd like to have my readers get the gist of her appearance, so I'll likely put it in there.

**Edit:** The new part that I added is at the end. That's the only part I changed.

_**This is America.**_

Voices. Mumbling. The neigh of a horse. The girl under the blanket stirred and someone stopped in mid sentence then continued when she didn't stir again. Perhaps it was one of the firemen. The air did smell of smoke, it must be firemen. But no, where were the sirens? Where was the sound of chatter and confusion and the fire hoses blasting water at the burning remains of her home? Maybe it was the hospital. No, there still wasn't enough noise. And how would that explain the horse?

Curious and a little afraid, she cracked her eyes open. The sight that met her was startling. She stared across a small camp in the middle of a clearing in the woods. There were two horses, a brown one and a white one, standing on the edge of the clearing. They were directly across from her but a fire crouched between them, casting odd shadows across their bodies. Adjacent to her was a man and a boy.

The boy was a year or two younger than she was fifteen probably. He had light brown hair and she couldn't really see his eyes. From where she lay and the way the fire danced across his face they looked darkly colored, but she couldn't be sure.

The elder of the two, the man, had salt-and-pepper-like hair. His short beard was of the same coloration. He had some crow's-feet around his eyes and there were various other wrinkles strewn about his face. He was about fifty, maybe forty-six.

The two were both dressed in strange clothes, the kind you would see in a movie about mid-evil times. The old man was smoking a pipe and had a sword attached to his belt.

Scared and confused about where she was, the girl squirmed out from under the blankets that they must have placed on her. She rolled over so she was propped up on her side, facing the men, in a position that made it easy for her to get up. She watched the men warily for a moment. The two were conversing in lowered tones when the elder one, who happened to have turned partially away from her, glanced over at the girl and stopped in his sentence.

"I see you're awake." He said in a smooth voice. The girl said nothing and simply stared at the man with a semi-frightened look. "Do you know who you are?"

The girl gave him an odd look before snapping, "Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?!" It was more aggressive than she had intended.

"Well you did take quite a nasty fall. I was afraid you may have gotten amnesia when you hit you head." said the man, gesturing to her head.

"My head…?" The girl lifted a hand to her hand and found a bandage wrapped around it. She ran her fingers over the cloth while staring at nothing in particular, only to wince when she touched a wet spot. 

It felt as if there were a slight hole, but nothing deep or life threatening. She must have started bleeding from hitting the rock; must have been a pretty mean rock. She was lucky she wasn't dead.

The girl sat there fingering the bandages for a while until a thought occurred to her. "What do you mean fall?" She didn't recall falling.

"Well, you fell right out of the sky."

"Oh, _come_ on. You don't get sent up into the sky when you get shocked by lightning." That's what had happened. She had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

"So you got struck by lightning?"

"Yeah- wait! Why should I tell you? Who are you? Where am I?" There was a touch of fear under the anger and mistrust in her voice.

"I'm Eragon and this is Brom "the boy said before the man, Brom apparently, had a chance to say anything.

The old man shot the boy, Eragon, a harsh glare. "To answer your question, we're a few days walk from the foothills of the Spine. Probably a week or two from Teirm." Brom said, redirecting his attention to the girl.

"The Spine? Is that a mountain range?" she asked, hoping to confirm it. It did look like they were in the mountains.

"Aye."

"But that's impossible. The only mountain _range_ anywhere** near **here is the Sierra Nevada, and that's at least a few dozen miles from here. Of course, there are other mountains but they're a good hour-hour and half drive away." she replied, confusion coloring her voice.

Now it was his turn to be confused. "Sierra Nevadas? There are no mountain ranges by that name in all of Alagaesia."

Her turn. "Alagaesia? Is that a county or something?" By this time she was sitting cross legged-covered up by the blanket since her legs were getting cold due to her short-shorts-, ready to spring up at a moment's notice. She didn't know of any counties in the area by that name.

His. "No! It's a country you fool!"

"Country?! No! This is America that we're in."

"America?"

"You know, the _country_."

"No. We're in _Alagaesia_."

"What! There's no way I could of the U.S! And besides, there ARE no countries called Alagaesia, unless it's some super small one in Europe or something."

"Of course Alagaesia's a country! And what are the U.S, America, and Europe?"

"Are you stupid or something? The U.S-otherwise known as America- is one of, if not the most well off country in the world!"

Now it was the boy's turn to be confused. "But I thought Alagaesia was the only country in the world."

"Are you retarded?" the girl hissed.

"Am I what?"

"Of course it's not the only country in the word. It's just the only _known_ country." The old man said, giving the girl an angry look.

"No it's not! There's the United States, Canada, Japan, Africa, France, Spain, South America, Central America, Mexico and about a bazillion others." The girl said, getting highly upset at the old man's ignorance.

"What? Those aren't real places. Don't fill the boy's head with such nonsense." The Brom said, frowning.

"_You _don't fill his head with nonsense." she snapped back.

"_I'm_ not. _You _are." He growled.

"Ha! Are you serious? Even a hobo knows the other major countries. In fact, you even look like one." She dared to say with a sneer.

"What's a hobo?" the boy cut in, sounding honestly curious.

"It's a homeless person; someone who lives on the streets, dumbass."

"I am not a dumbass!" the boy snapped, though she doubted he knew the exact meaning of the phrase, only that it was an insult.

"Your mom's a dumbass." She sneered back with the common insult.

"My mother was no such thing!" he roared, jumping up.

"Hey, calm down man. It's not that ba- "

"Silence!" Brom snarled, menacingly enough that both youths listened to the command. "Good. Now, judging by what miss..."

"Athena." She said. Eragon sat back down, glaring at her.

"Right. Judging by what Miss Athe-"

"No miss. It makes me feel old." she interrupted again.

He gave her a hard stare for about a minute, though she started fidgeting after only fifteen seconds. "Judging by what Miss Athena says, I presume either she's got amnesia or she's not from here. Most likely the first, though."

"I do not have amnesia!"

He gave her a critical stare. "Are you sure on that?"

"Yes!" she snapped. For a while, no one spoke. "How am I going to get home?" she asked suddenly.

"Where exactly _is_ home?"the old man asked.

"In Aidington." She said.

"Well, I don't know where that is."

"In _California_. The state we're in right now."

"Miss. I'm sorry to tell you this, but those aren't real places."

"_**Yes**_ they _**are**_." She was getting fed up with him. Brom and Eragon exchanged a glance.

The boy suddenly got a vacant look, as if he were staring at nothing but at the same time arguing with someone. Brom looked over at him while a glint of understanding mixing with a glimmer of curiosity was flashing in his eyes. Athena, however, didn't notice that. She was too busy looking around.

"Hey, how far are we from the nearest town?" she asked, scratching her bare leg under the blanket.

Brom sighed and shifted so he was facing her better, thinking for a moment. "About two weeks walking," he said finally.

"What do you mean walking? Don't you have a car?" she asked, looking around. The only mode of transportation around was the horses.

"Car? Uhm…I'm not sure what that is, so no. We don't."

"Then….you've been using the horses?" she asked, glancing at the brown and white steeds across the fire. They were carrying saddle packs.

"Yes, we have." Athena looked over at Eragon when he glanced at Brom. His unseeing eyes were no longer sightless; they were now focused on her. He seemed very curious about her and there seemed to be a thousand questions he was just itching to ask.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment." Brom said, getting up suddenly and stepping further into the forest. Eragon followed him, appearing eager and reluctant at the same time. Athena watched them nervously as they discussed something in lowered tones. Would they be nice enough to get her to the town? Maybe then she could find someone with some sense who actually new where she was.

After a few minutes they came back over and sat down. Brom considered her for a moment and opened his mouth to speak but Eragon beat him to it. "Would you like to accompany us to Teirm?" he asked.

"That's the nearest town, right?" Athena asked, looking from one to the other. These two were really crazy. Where the hell was Teirm? She'd never even heard of the damn place before.

"Aye," said Brom, shooting Eragon a scolding glare. He slowly turned his eyes back to Athena, waiting for her response.

"Uhm….Y-yeah…Well, wait, let me check something first." She said, leaning back and reaching for her pocket. She struggled for a moment then stood up exasperatedly, the blanket falling off her legs. She glanced at Eragon when he gasped. He was staring at her legs in astonishment and a look that told her he wasn't used to seeing girls' legs. Brom had averted him gaze, shifting on the ground uneasily.

"What?" she asked, looking down at what she was wearing and then back at the two men. She was wearing a pair of dark blue denim short-shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt sporting a neon green circle on the chest and the numbers 877 393 4448—a number sequence that held no real significance-- down each sleeve. It was a usual outfit. Okay, so maybe not.

She had been wearing this because she had the heat up high in her house but she didn't want to turn it down. Plus all her other pants, the ones she liked anyways, were in the wash, so she couldn't put the short-shorts on. But it still wasn't _that_ odd.

"Uh….uh..erm….."Eragon managed to sputter as he continues to stare. He glanced up at her face and then tore his eyes away from her. Athena gave him an odd look, rolled her eyes, and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Thankfully it was still there. She had been trying to text one of her friends during the storm but there was no signal so she had given up and replaced it into her pocket.

Brom glanced at her and leaned forward when he saw her silver razor. Eragon was too busy staring at a particularly interesting clump of grass to notice the phone. The girl flipped open her phone and started moving around the clearing, staring at the glowing screen. After a while she got frustrated and sat back down.

"I don't get a signal up here, so yeah. I don't see why not. I can't reach my parents anyways." She said, leaning back and slipping her phone into her pocket.

"Alright then, it's settled. You'll accompany us to Teirm." Brom said.


	3. A Full Name

Author's Note: Sorry for uploading the first chapter again, but I didn't like the ending so I changed it. Please go read it; otherwise this part won't make sense based on the first version of Ch 1 anyways. Still haven't gotten to the scanner.

Hey, does anyone remember how non-dragon riders used magic? Like, Shades got their magic from spirits, but what about witches and regular spell casters? I just don't remember right now.

Also, sorry it took so long.

**_A Full Name_**

"Alright then, it's settled. You'll accompany us to Teirm." Brom said before Eragon could open his mouth. Eragon seemed to be thrilled by this.

"So….." he said, making an attempt at conversation.

"Do you guys have anything to eat? I'm a little hungry." Athena said. She was a little nervous about getting food from them but she didn't have many other options at this point. She had looked around a bit while they spoke about the route to take, or something like that, and all she could see was trees and mountains. Plus what was happening hadn't fully hit yet her, everything was going so fast. These guys seemed nice enough, so she might as well go with them.

"Yes. We have some bread and jerky in the saddle bags. Would you like me to get it for you?" Eragon asked, already getting up part way. He seemed to have forgotten what she had said about his mother.

"Uh…sure." She replied, a little confused by his eagerness. She would have loved cheetos or something but jerky and bread would do. For now.

He jumped up and practically ran to the horses, opening one of the saddle bags and producing a few strips of jerky and a bit of bread. He came back over and handed her the food, which she took after mumbling a thanks. Once she had finished eating she asked if they had some water.

"Aye." Brom said before Eragon could do anything. He picked up an odd brownish bag that was next to him and tossed it to her. It had a cap on it that twisted off and the bag itself felt like leather, almost. It took her a moment to figure out there was water in it, but when she did Athena drank from it gratefully, only just now realizing how thirsty she really was.

"Now," Brom said, once she handed it back to him, "We should get going. We have to cover _some_ ground today."

Athena glanced up at the sky; wasn't it night still? Apparently not. It looked like it might be around six-thirty in the morning, but she couldn't be sure. She would have checked her phone, but she had turned it off to save power.

"Isn't it a little early?" she asked, looking to Brom.

"Early? Not at all. We normally leave about this time, right boy?" he asked, looking at Eragon.

"Aye." He responded, standing up and gathering some dishes around the fire.

"Uh…..Do-Do you want me to roll these up or something?" she asked after a few moments of them putting things up. She was referring to the blankets.

"No, I'll get it." Eragon said, trotting over and rolling the blankets up into a tight bundle. Athena watched carefully, trying to memorize the way he had done it so she could do it next time.

The men finished packing things away in only a few minutes while Athena stood by the fire, attempting to warm her legs. "So…..how are we gonna get there?" she asked, as if it hadn't already been clarified.

"Well….You can ride on Cadoc. Eragon, you will have to go on foot. We'll keep the horses at a walk." Brom said, standing by the white horse.

"Of course." The young burnet replied, pulling on a pair of boots. Athena glanced down at her bare feet and wriggled her toes. How was she going to last two weeks without shoes? And was it really going to take two weeks? She doubted it.

She looked up and Eragon was staring at her expectantly, as if waiting for a reply. "Hm? What? Sorry, I zoned out." She told him. "What'd you say?"

"I asked you if you needed any help up. Up onto Cadoc." He said when she gave him that confused look.

"Huh? Him?" she asked, pointing to the brown horse he had brought over. He nodded. "Uh, yeah-yes please." She said, walking closer to the horse. Eragon grabbed her waist and asked, "Ready?" "Mhmm." Came her reply, a small embarrassed smile flitting across her face at his touch.

"One. Two. _Three_." He grunted, lifting her up. She swung her leg over the horse, gripping the saddle for support as she did so.

"Thanks. " She said, smiling down at him. This horse sure was tall and the saddle hurt a bit. Athena glanced over at Brom to see how he got his horse going since she honestly had no idea.

"Come on. Let us be off." Brom said, pressing his heels into the horse's side. When he did the horse started walking, so Athena mimicked the movement. Unluckily for her she had done it too hard so the horse let out a loud winey, reared up and took off at a gallop. Frantically, she grabbed the reins and clung to them as if she thought they would stop the horse, even though she didn't pull on them.

While she sat there screaming, after releasing the reins and throwing her arms around the horse's neck, Brom shouted orders at Eragon. Brom galloped forward on his white steed and cut off Cadoc's route. The unruly horse skidded to a halt and made to turn around but Ergaon was already there. Cadoc reared up again, gaining another terrified shriek from Athena, and Eragon shouted some strange words. The girl missed the words but they didn't sound like English to her. Of course, she was clinging to a horse for dear life so she had no idea what anyone was saying. Even her own screams for help sounded like gibberish.

The horse stamped its hooves angrily, swinging its head to look at Eragon. He repeated his words in a more calm tone and Cadoc snorted, finally seeming to calm down. The boy ran his hand kindly over the horse's muzzle a few times then patted its neck and walked around to where Athena clung to it.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at her with eyes full of worry. She stared at him, dumbfounded, through her extremely messy hair. Her arms were still around the beast's neck and some of the horse's mane and gotten into her face too.

"What d'you think?" she snapped. "Of course I'm not okay. This thing just tried to kill me!" He didn't even flinch at her harsh words, which only made her glare more. "I refuse to ride this stupid thing any longer." She proclaimed, sitting up in the saddle and fixing her hair, for the most part.

"Would you like any help down?" he asked, looking at her with still worried eyes.

"No." she snarled, glaring at him as if it were his fault the horse acted the way it did. He still didn't flinch, though his eyes did gain a hurt and angry spark in them.

"If you say so." He said, anger glittering in his voice. Athena rolled her eyes and swung her leg over the horse. Trouble was, she forgot to put her foot in the stirrup so she slipped and fell on her but. Eragon stifled a laugh, smirking down at her from where she sat.

"Shut-up, you." She growled, not yet going to the more common insults. She'd go there when she got to know him better. He shrugged his shoulders, still smirking, as she stood up and brushed off her rear end.

"Let's keep going." Brom said, clearly upset about something. Athena shot him a resentful sneer and started picking her way through the trees, stepping carefully. Brom urged his horse forward and Eragon followed on foot, leading Cadoc along. "Eragon, get over here." Brom growled. The young man obliged, his head down as he switched sides of the horse so he could easily talk to the old man. He seemed a little ashamed, as if he had done something wrong. The elder male began hissing to the younger one, apparently scolding him for something he had said. Or at least that's what Athena picked up.

She looked over at them, just as Brom was looking at her. Their eyes met and she looked away first, facing forward and rolling her eyes. He continued talking to Eragon in hushed tones for a while longer. Finally, Eragon muttered a crest-fallen acceptance, clearly more disappointed in himself than Brom was.

"You did good though; it was the right thing to do. Just be sure not to do it again." The old man said, casting him a semi-sympathetic look.

"Aye, Brom." Eragon muttered, shuffling his feet as he walked. The three walked in silence for a while, the only sound being the sound of feet and hooves on the ground. After a while, probably half an hour or so, the young man switched sides of the brown horse so he was closer to his new female companion. Athena glanced over at him and scowled slightly, picking up the pace when they exited the wooded region a few steps later.

"Forgive me. I never meant to upset you." Eragon said after another period of silence and an encouraging look from Brom. Athena looked at him, her face a little regretful.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't you're fault the horse did that, it was probably mine." She relented, bowing her head to stare at the dirt and grass she walked upon.

"Still, I am sorry. It was rude of me to laugh when you fell after getting off Cadoc." He urged.

"Rude? Pff, I woulda' laughed my ass off if you fell." She scoffed, swaying a little as she walked. Athena glanced at Eragon, smirking as she did so. He was staring straight ahead, holding the horse's reins in his hand. She looked behind him when she heard Brom speed up his horse and followed him with her eyes as he moved in front of them a ways, leading the way. He caught Eragon's eye and gave him a look that Athena couldn't read; she never was good at reading faces. She could read lips if she tried, but that was only when she was in class.

"So…" he said, obviously trying to stir up a conversation.

"So." She replied, rather dully. How long were they going to be out here for? Would it really be two weeks?

"What did you say your name was?" he asked. No surprise that he'd forgotten. She couldn't remember his name either.

"Athena. Athena Goldfield." She said, filling out her whole name. Of course, she left out her middle name; she didn't like mentioning it, just like most of the kids at her school. "And you? I'm not good with names. I remember that horse is Cadoc; I have no damn clue about the other one, though. Or the old man."

"I'm Eragon. And the old man is Brom. His horse is Snowfire." He replied, seeming interested when she said her last name.

"What, no last name?" she asked playfully, looking at him with a raised eye brow.

"Last name?" he repeated, seeming baffled.

"You know your last name. It comes after your first name." Athena said, laughing a little as she returned her eyes to the trail. They had entered another patch of trees, but there weren't many shrubs here, so it wasn't too bad to walk on. There were a lot of rocks to step on, though. Of course, that was because they were walking down a mountain.

"Um…..I don't….have one. I don't have a father." He said, looking at the ground.

"What does that have to do with anything? What was your mom's name?" she inquired, confused about his odd ways.

"Selena."

"I mean her _full_ name."

"Full name?"

"Yeah, you know. Like I'm Athena Goldfield, what was your mom's name?"

"I'm….I do not understand." He said, looking at her, thoroughly confused.

"What's not to get? Ugh, okay. Don't you have a brother or something?" she asked, hoping he did. Maybe his brother had a full name.

"No. There's my cousin, but he's not my brother. His dad is my mom's brother."

"Okay then. What's his name?" she asked, looking at him with widened eyes for emphasis.

"Roran. Roran Garrow'sson." He said, seeming to hope he was right with this.

"Okay. Good. So, then you'd be Eragon Garrowsson, too, since your mom shares the same last name as your uncle." Athena explained, thinking she was right.

"No. Garrow's not my dad. He's Roran's." he replied, frowning at her.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded, giving him an odd look.

Brom glanced back at the two saying, "Watch your step." Athena looked back at the path, glancing back up at Eragon to let him know she still expected an answer.

"Aye, Brom." Eragon replied, returning his eyes to the path before glancing at Athena when he spoke. "I'm wondering what _you_ are talking about. What is a last name?"

"It's a name that comes after your first name." she explained, sounding rather irritated.

"Yes, but what _is _it?" He asked, using a forward hand gesture to try and explain his words.

"What is it? What the hell do you mean 'what is it'?! "she shouted stopping and turning to stare at him.

"I mean I don't know what it is. I have yet to meet someone aside from you with a 'last name'." Eragon said, trying to sound calm even though his voice cracked in anger.

"Oh my god! You are so-ugh! I'm not talking to you anymore." She declared and stomping forward to walk a little in front of Brom, yelping a little when she slammed her foot down too hard on a rock. She didn't want to be totally rude to Ergaon since these _were _the people were showing her out of the mountains, but Eragon was just _so_ stupid! What kind of idiot doesn't know what a last name is?

Athena brooded on the boy's stupidity for a long time while she watched the ground, picking her steps less carefully than before. Her feet and legs were starting to hurt but she didn't really want to get back on the horse. Shadows had gotten smaller and were starting to grow again. She figured this meant it was and they had been on the trail for a while since she last snapped at young man.

"Where did you say you were from?" Brom asked her suddenly. She hadn't noticed that she'd fallen into step beside him and the horse.

"Hm? Oh, Aidington." She seemed to have calmed down. The answer came rather thoughtlessly and she said it a bit vacantly.

"Mmm…."he said, staring straight ahead, apparently thinking about it. Had he heard of it?

"Ever heard of it?" she asked, voicing her thoughts.

"Nay, I have not heard of it." He said in that old gruff voice of his. Her heart sank a bit.

"Is this really going to take two weeks?"

"Probably not. We might make it there by the middle of next week." It was Sunday. This was going to be a long, long trip.

Great.


	4. I Think I'm Gonna be Sick

Authors Note: Sorry for the confusion at the last update. Thanks to luckystar125 for informing me about the chapters being the same. Sorry this one took _so_ long too. I'll try to update sooner next time and it'll be longer, too. And more eventfull. I hope.

**I think I'm gonna be sick.  
**

"So Brom." Athena said after a long silence. Nothing had been said after Brom told her they might get to Teirm by the middle of next week. She would have kept the silence but she was getting bored;-hopping from rock to rock, walking through bushes, avoiding Eragon and his idiocy- she had to talk to someone; she had to. Or maybe she needed something else.

"Yes?" He asked, looking over at her since the path ahead didn't need much navigation from him.

"I have to pee." She announced, rather plainly. Apparently she did need something else.

Brom looked at her, an eyebrow cocked in something that resembled indifference. "And? What do you want me to do about it?" he asked.

"Well we need to find a gas station or something so I can go to the bathroom." She said, frowning a little.

"Gas station? Just go in a bush, we'll wait for you." He replied, pulling the horse to a stop.

"What's going on?" Eragon asked, stopping Cadoc beside Snowfire.

"Athena needs to relieve herself so we're waiting while she goes."

"Oh, Okay." He replied, sitting down.

"What? No. I'm not going in a bush! There are bugs and spiders and I'll probably fall over!" she protested, appalled by the thought of it.

"So? There are bugs on the ground and you step there. Besides, you're going to have to go eventually and that's the only place we have. You might as well use it."Brom replied.

"But…uh…" she said, huffing as she tried to figure out what to do.

"We're not going to look." Eragon added, though Athena had her doubts. Still, she had nowhere else to go and if she didn't go now she'd pee her pants.

"Oh, fine!" she snapped, whirling around and darting off into a bush. The men sat there, waiting for her, for about five minutes before she returned, looking rather embarrassed.

"What?" Brom asked, looking at her expression.

"What d'you mean what? You just made me pee in a bush." She snapped.

"I didn't make you do anything." He replied, pushing his heels into the horse's side to make it go again.

"Ye-Well, uh, but-I hate you." She muttered, unable to come up with a good response. Eragon chuckled as he pulled on Cadoc's reigns, getting the horse into a walk.

"What's so funny?" She snapped.

"You. You think you're going to get to go the bathroom somewhere special out here. It's not going to happen." He scoffed. He seemed to be upset about her words earlier; either that or he was just a jerk. Athena assumed it was the latter.

"Well at least I have manners." She retorted, her brain lacking any proper come backs. He didn't seem bothered by her remark.

"You have to bathe in the river, too." He replied, a smug smirk on his face. He seemed to be aware that she wasn't used to the wilderness.

"What? What? No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not bathing in a river." She said, getting in front of him, holding up a finger the way girls do.

"It's either that or you don't bathe." He replied, moving past her and glancing back with the same smug look.

"No…..no….this can't be happening….." she muttered, holding her face in one hand and staring blankly at the ground.

"Keep moving. We want to get there on time, you know." Brom called, glancing back at her. Athena shot him an extremely dirty look but turned and continued following the men anyways.

As they walked, Athena sulked and shuffled after them, getting her feet even filthier, glad that the ground was dirt and not rocks. Plus the path was pretty clear and she didn't have to twist in odd positions to get through bushes and avoid scratching herself on the branches.

"We should find a place to camp." Brom announced, glancing up the sky that was growing gradually darker.

"Uhm…How do we find a place to camp?" the girl asked, stopping in her tracks with a confused look on her face.

"Well, we need to find a place that's fairly level, shielded but bushes or trees, and doesn't look like it's been used by animals recently." He explained while he got off Snowfire and started looking around the bushes. "But Eragon and I will take care of it."

"Okay." She replied, shuffling after them when they moved on to a different area.

"Over here." Eragon called from somewhere beyond a cluster of trees. Brom quickly trotted over with his steed in tow; Athena followed more slowly, looking around nervously at the trees. As she peered around the old man into the clearing he stood at the edge of he made a noise of satisfaction.

"Well done Eragon." He praised, quickly picking up some sticks off the ground and arranging them in the center for a fire.

"I didn't find it, Sa-"

"Will you go catch us some dinner, boy?" Brom said loudly, a hard glint in his eyes as he looked at the 'boy'. Eragon ducked his head as if he realized he said something he shouldn't have and muttered in agreement. Athena stared at Brom then looked at Eragon as he took the saddle bags off the horses then trekked out of the camp site with a bow and arrows.

"Can I go with him?" she asked, not exactly wanting to stay with the old man alone. He looked up at her, a questioning look on his face.

"Of course not. Not unless you know how to hunt." He replied, turning back to the fire he was working on. She sighed and tottered over to stand next to Brom, watching him click rocks together for a moment. She raised an eyebrow then folded her legs under her, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Ewwwuh." She muttered, lifting a leg and brushing dust off of it. She would've loved to have a pants or even a skirt instead of these short shorts. The old man didn't seem bothered by them anymore but Eragon did. He shirked away from her if she got too close and avoided looking down when she was near. Athena found it very amusing.

Brom glanced at her, huffing a small laugh at her dislike of the dirt. She looked at him questioningly then stared at the fire, or, the pile of sticks he was trying to light. "What are you doing?" she asked, despite the fact that she knew what he was doing.

"Lighting a fire." He replied, clicking the rocks together again.

"Why aren't you using matches?" she asked, giving him a blank stare. He returned her stare with a baffled look. "You know, matches?" she said, making a swiping motion with one hand over the other, as if striking a match.

"I…I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about." He said, still looking confused. It quickly changed to a look of agitation as the fire still didn't light. Brom sat there clanking rocks together for another five minutes while Athena, thoroughly bored, lay back on the ground, supporting her head on her arms . Finally the old man got so frustrated he uttered a curse. "Brisngr" he hissed. Athena glanced at him, twisting to see the old man better.

"Ah, you got the fire going?" she said, sitting up swiftly to stare at the flame. "Whoa…." she mumbled, holding a hand to her head, only to pull it away with a yelp. "Ow! Ow, owhuhwuhu…" she whined, tentatively touching the bandage on her head. "Is it safe to take off?" she asked, looking uncertainly at the old man. She seemed to have forgotten all about the old man's cussing.

"Mmm….I'd wait another day or two. Give it time to close up better." He directed. She nodded, still whining a little at the throbbing in her head. Brom looked at her then got up and set a few sticks on the fire along with some dried prickly thing to help it burn better, or so the girl assumed.

The two sat there in silence for a while, doing nothing interesting. Brom tended to the fire, jostling it occasionally as the blaze grew bigger. Athena lifted her legs and pulled them to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She stared at the fire with a look of contentment, just watching the blaze dance and twist into neat patterns.

A rustling in the bushes near by caused Athena to look over startled and Brom grasp the hilt of the sword on him belt. "I caught dinner." Came a voice, and soon after a body. Eragon emerged from the plants, holding the body of a dead deer.

"Oh my God, what did you do?!" Athena cried, jumping up and staring at him with a mortified expression.

"I caught dinner." He replied, wondering why she acted that way.

"We're eating a deer?!" she cried, yet again mortified.

"Well, yeah." Eragon said, looking to Brom for help. The old man only shrugged and went back to the fire. Athena gaped at Eragon and he nervously set the deer down on the other side of the fire. He rummaged through the bags and pulled out a stew pot. He set it down next to the fire and sat down in front of the deer, his back to Athena and blocking her view. She stared in shock as he pulled out a knife and she heard a dull thud as it was driven into the corpse.

"Oh, God. I think I'm gonna be sick." She mumbled, holding her hand over her mouth. The girl sat like that for a while, listening to the boy slice up the deer and remove parts of it only to set it in the pot next to him, which she was didn't think was clean.

After a while there was a nice bed of coals and Eragon put the pot on it then dropped the meat in it. Athena twitched as if she were going to gag when the meat started to sizzle.

When dinner was done, however, she did eat it. It was a rather stew with a few-emphasis on few-seasonings Brom had found in the saddle bags. It wasn't bad but she had had much better. Once dinner was over Brom passed out blankets and they fell asleep.

Well, Brom and Eragon did. It took Athena at least an hour to get comfortable and then another half hour to stop freaking out about the noises in the forest. She did, eventually, get to sleep, though.


End file.
